Trevor Sise picked up $2,000 for his efforts on Saturday night in Bulls Gap.
The Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. hosted a full night of racing on Saturday with action in the Limited Late Model, Crate Late Model and Modified Hobby classes. The weather was hot going into the night and the action on the track proved to be hot as well.
On first glance, it might appear as if young Trevor Sise had his way in the Limited Late Model feature race. But even after establishing a new track record in qualifying, the Knoxville driver had to fight for the $2,000 first prize.
Sise began the evening’s festivities by turning a lap of 12.740 seconds around the third-mile clay oval to establish a new mark for the Steelhead class. That time beat out the field of 25 cars that had assembled. Cory Hedgecock would join Sise on the front as he too turned a lap under the old track record. Trailing the top-2 on the starting grid would be Matt Henderson, Jason Trammell, Ross White, Jamie Perry, Brad Lowe and Jason Welshan.
The starting lineup was set entirely by time-trials.
It would be Hedgecock who bolted to the early lead of the 40-lap race at the drop of the green flag with Sise, Trammell and Henderson giving chase. The Loudon, Tenn. driver looked as if he might separate himself from the field early on, but it was not to be.
Five caution flags would keep the pack bunched together throughout the night which made for some intense racing for virtually every position. A lap 8 yellow flag had significant bearing on the makeup of the race as 3rd and 4th runners Trammell and Henderson came together, resulting in a flat tire for Henderson.
The race ran green from lap 8 to lap 21, which allowed Hedgecock to encounter slower cars. At one point, the leader found himself bouncing off one of those slower machines and almost spinning in turn two.
As Hedgecock was fighting with traffic, Sise and Trammell were engaged in their battle for the runner-up spot while Perry and Welshan made their way into the top-5 by jumping around Ross White.
The most significant moment of the race came on lap 32 when Jason Manley spun. It was not that spin that made for a turning point, but the ensuing restart did. When the green flag waved to send the field back to full speed, Hedgecock’s car faulted at the front of the pack. A number of cars banged into one another as drivers swerved to avoid the crippled No. 23 machine.
It would later be reported the a broken axle was the likely culprit in Hedgecock’s poor restart and eventual demise.
With the leader of the first 32 laps now gone, it was up to Sise and Trammell to fight it out for the win. Despite a number of attempts to make the move in the closing laps, Trammell was unable get around Sise.
At the finish it was Trevor Sise, Jason Trammell, Jamie Perry, Jensen Ford, Jason Welshan, Ross White, Greg Estes, Brad Lowe, Matt Henderson and Drew Kennedy making up the top-10 finishers.
Jason Welshan picked up yet another Crate Late Model win on Saturday night in Bulls Gap.
Jason Welshan saw to it that there was not nearly so much drama in the Crate Late Model Feature.
In qualifying, the Maryville, Tenn. driver posted the fastest lap with a time of 13.140 seconds to beat out the other 13 drivers who had signed in for competition. Tim Maupin, Bryson Dennis, Ricky Moore and Tim Byrd would make up the remainder of the top-5 on the starting grid.
When the feature got underway, it was all Welshan from the very start. the No. 29 car surged to the early lead with Maupin proving to be the only other car able to maintain the leader’s torrid pace.
There would be five cautions to slow the action over the course of the 30-lap feature but no one was ever able to mount a serious challenge against Welshan. At times, his advantage would be as much as a straightaway until the next yellow flag would again bunch the field.
At the finish, it was Jason Welshan winning over Tim Maupin, Ricky Moore, Tim Byrd and Bryson Dennis.
In the Modified Hobby class, Gary Blanken set fast time in qualifying. However, track officials inverted the top-6 cars prior to the start of the feature in a move that would put Curt Owens on the pole for the 25 lapper.
Owens led early but his car would give in to mechanical troubles just before the halfway mark. Blanken overcame his third row starting spot to claim the lead and drive on to the victory.
Perhaps the drive of the night came from Jamie Whitt who spun early in the going but worked his way from the tail of the 14 car field back into the top-5.
At the finish, it was Gary Blanken, Chad Manning, Jamie Whitt, Jon Cook and Dave Smith.
